Ian Gibson is a Scottish retired association football (soccer) player. Gibson is most notable for being a regular first team player for Fitzroy United Alexander in the

Victorian State League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer leagu ...

. Gibson is also notable for playing for

South Melbourne Hellas South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Lakeside Stadium. ...

in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

's inaugural season in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

Career

Fitzroy United Alexander (1973-1976)

After his arrival from Scotland, Gibson began his football career in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia signing with Fitzroy United Alexander (now Heidelberg United) in the fast growing

for the 1973 season. Gibson made his debut for the club in the second round on 8 April 1973, against future

club

in a 0-1 loss at Olympic Park Stadium. His first goal for the club came four rounds later on 5 May 1973, against

Brunswick Juventus Brunswick Juventus Junior Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football (soccer) club that is based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East. Nicknamed the 'Zebras', the club fields both senior and reserves t ...

being the first the goal in 2-0 victory. In what was the club's first ever competitive home match at the

Brunswick Street Oval The WT Peterson Community Oval, best known as the Brunswick Street Oval and also as the Fitzroy Cricket Ground, is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, Victoria. History Australian Rule ...

on 13 April 1975, following the club coming to an agreement with both the

Fitzroy Lions The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...

and

Fitzroy Cricket Club The Fitzroy Doncaster Cricket Club, nicknamed the Lions, play cricket in the elite club competition of Melbourne, Australia, known as Victorian Premier Cricket. The club was formed by a 1986 amalgamation of Fitzroy Cricket Club, a foundation mem ...

, Gibson scored the first goal in what would finish to be a 2-0 victory over

in front of a near modern-day capacity crowd of 14'500 spectators in the memorable debut for the club. In the four seasons Gibson spent with the

North Fitzroy Fitzroy North is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cites of Merri-bek and Yarra local government areas. Fitzroy North recorded a population of 12,7 ...

club, competing in the Victorian State League,

Dockerty Cup The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the former president of Football Federation Victoria Harry Dockerty. ...

, Ampol Cup and the State Preseason Challenge Cup, Gibson made a total of 89 appearances for Alexander, scoring 37 goals, including being an integral member of the 1975 state league championship victory, forming a famous link with fellow Scottish winger George Gillan. Gibson's last game for the club was on 12 September at the Brunswick Street Oval against

Sunshine George Cross Caroline Springs George Cross Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Fraser Rise, a north-western suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and plays in State League Division 1, the fourth tier of football in Victoria. George ...

in a 1-1 draw.

South Melbourne Hellas (1977)

Following the assembly of the

, Gibson along with fellow Scot and Fitzroy teammate & player-coach Jack Reilly were lured away from

and joined rival Greek backed club

on a one-year contract. Gibson made his debut for the club in the first round on 2 April 1977 against Sydney Olympic FC away in a 2-0 win. His first goal came in round 3 on 18 April 1977 against

based rivals

Footscray JUST Footscray Jugoslav United Soccer Team, commonly referred to as Footscray JUST or simply JUST, was an association football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club was established by Yugoslav migrants in 1950, and was a founding member of the N ...

in a 2-2 draw. At the season's conclusion, Hellas disappointedly finished eleventh out of fourteen. Gibson and former Fitzroy teammate George Gillan, who played for Alexander in the 1977 season with difficulty for a regular spot, both retired from the game professionally.

Career statistics

Footnotes

:A. Includes appearances in the

. :B. Includes appearances in the

Cup. :C. Includes appearances in the Pre-Season

Ampol Ampol Limited is an Australian petroleum company headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales. Ampol is the largest transport energy distributor and retailer in Australia, with more than 1,900 Ampol-branded stations across the country . It also ope ...

Cup. :D. Fitzroy United Alexander did participate in the

in 1975 and 1976, however individual player records were not kept, thus resulting in these statistics being in dispute.

Honours

With Fitzroy United Alexander: *

: Champions 1975

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Ian Possibly living people Year of birth missing Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish men's footballers Men's association football forwards South Melbourne FC players Heidelberg United FC players National Soccer League (Australia) players Victorian Premier League players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia